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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26571550">*family bonding</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinka_fuka/pseuds/rinka_fuka'>rinka_fuka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Time Travel Fix-It, a hard maybe on that, all these kids have so much trauma lets discuss, also im gradually fixing stuff, fluff?? who she, hima deserves more attention and thus i have given it to her, it gets shippy because i can't control myself, lets see if i actually fix anything, repost from ff, sunshine family tings??, we're angsty in this house</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:01:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,665</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26571550</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinka_fuka/pseuds/rinka_fuka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>*let's say, hypothetically, you accidentally travelled back in time, and ended up stranded with probably your least favorite person in the world, who also happens to be your 17 year old father. Does this or does this not qualify as the "bonding time" his mom was always going on about?<br/>((Because I am going to fix this relationship damnit))</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Boruto &amp; Uzumaki Himawari, Uzumaki Boruto &amp; Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hellooooo ao3!! i've finally made it! not so acquainted with the Naruto fandom scene here, but, I hope that you guys enjoy this attempt at ~improving~ our sunshine family dynamic! It'll be a ride!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT CONTAINS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION TO THE COUNTRY OF KONOHAGAKURE; THE MISHANDLING OF THIS INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN PUNISHMENT OF THE HIGHEST DEGREE</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>FILE NAME:  Minato Namikaze</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>RANK: [redacted]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>ORIGIN: [redacted]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>RELATIONS: [redacted]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT RANK: [redacted]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: [redacted]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>STATUS: Deceased</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>*Any and all information for this file has been permanently removed with no such further knowledge being granted to anyone except those with high clearance.* </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Redacted</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The word had practically been burned into his head.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Minato Namikaze was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>redacted </span>
  </em>
  <span>case, meaning that once upon a time ago he had been a real live person. And then one day, for reasons Naruto was </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> unclear about, the village decided that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>just wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>and that one of their most accomplished shinobi was reduced to but a name.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He relinquished yet another scroll to the growing pile of dashed hopes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The village sure did a hell of a job erasing even the slightest notion of a person’s existence. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hokage</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no less, he thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Despite the good intentions the village may have had in keeping such a monumental secret for 17 years, Naruto couldn’t help but acknowledge that small inkling of betrayal that only grew as the days went by. But he tried not to dwell on that too much. It gave him thoughts that he preferred to not think about, but nonetheless, he found the number of sleepless nights racking up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Had he been the only one in the dark?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Should he have tried harder to discover who his parents were?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Kakashi knew the whole time and yet—</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto shook his head. Slapping at his cheeks, he willed the thought away. He’d spent days after his impromptu family reunion feeling dark emotions welling up in regards to his sensei— he’d been his father’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>student. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kakashi had had </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>with him while Naruto barely had a few minutes. It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fair</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Kakashi could’ve told him but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How was he supposed to just look past something like that?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But when Naruto took some time to really think about it, none of that had been Kakashi’s fault, had it?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No. It hadn’t. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He had reasoned with himself. If he could have, his sensei would’ve told him. He’d been open about it when Naruto finally worked up the nerve to actually approach him about it, saying that he’d tell him anything he wanted to know, and well, Naruto had to appreciate that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After what was admittedly a brief discussion, Naruto wasn’t mad anymore, but there was still that pesky hole in his heart that was still bothering him. It had been a long and difficult few weeks but one of the best lessons Naruto had learned was that taking a deep breath and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not thinking about it</span>
  </em>
  <span> helped a lot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t like he had that much to distract him with anymore. With everything going on in the village, missions were out of the question for a little while. They’d just finished repairs on his new apartment which was a bit bigger than his old one, he even had a whole living room— no furniture for it though, so it was just this big empty space that Naruto didn’t quite like.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t sleep either, so often he was up, helping out with repairs or “borrowing” scrolls for his newly acquired hobby. But as Naruto was coming to find out, hobbies weren’t much fun when there was nothing to show for it except a portrait and a name.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto blew out a foggy breath, watching it billow in the cold morning air. The sun hung low in the sky behind wispy clouds, casting dark shadows down on the village. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was barely 8 but the village was already teeming with the sounds of heavy construction. These days though, it seemed like the clanging of hammers against wood or the buzzing of drills in iron was a permanent fixture in their lives.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Naruto found that way up on the Hokage Monument, all that sound was kind of muted, drowned out by the late fall drafts and reduced to a dull humming. Naruto sat, looking over the village from atop the Yondaime’s stone head. The rock was practically frozen underneath him, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind all that much. The spot had become something of a comfort to him, one that he was holding onto more desperately today. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Minato’s stone head may have been adjacent to sitting on ice, but the rough stone spikes of his hair made for easier early morning lounging. At the thought, Naruto ran a hand through his own unruly shock of hair, feeling that same foreign sensation of kinsmanship. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Looking out onto the village like this, Naruto found that that other feeling— the not so good one that he preferred to avoid— was dulled too. Though the giant hole that had been blown in the center was only partially visible; they had done a good job of covering it up, so Naruto was at least happy about that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The air around him gradually began to warm as the morning sun climbed its way higher into the sky, warming his skin and the mountain he sat upon. His favorite part, he noted with a small smile. Fall was truly setting in, and temperatures were due to drop for good soon, but way up here, even the threat of frostbite was of little concern to him. All his problems were back on the ground right where they belonged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He collapsed onto his back with a sigh, basking in the sunlight. It was going to be a clear day. The early morning clouds had dispersed and the only thing pervading Naruto’s vision were the jagged stone peaks. He heard a lizard skitter up past his head, slinking its way to the warmer side of the stone head. Naruto puffed out a breath, watching his own makeshift clouds disappear as quickly as he had made them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I wish you could’ve told me something important.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just as his breath had, his words billowed up into the sky, remaining unheard, unacknowledged.  Initially, he had been a little embarrassed about talking to a stone head rather than his actual father, or rather, his grave— wherever </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was— but pretending to talk to him, Naruto found, was much easier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A lot had changed, and so quickly. He’d grown as a shinobi, fought a battle that seemed… hopeless for a moment, and now he was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hero</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Everyone loved him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>adored </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. He’d tell this to his stone father, and it felt nice to pretend that he was getting validation for his accomplishments in the past month.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The people who had glared at him in contempt for years, now stared at him with tears of gratitude in their eyes, making sure to stop him and express their thanks, and it was all so surreal</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was everything he’d ever dreamed of.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was almost never alone anymore, whether it be from his own duties, or yet another banquet in his honor. The old Naruto, the one who caused mischief for attention, who yearned to be cared for and appreciated, was gone. His dream had been fulfilled. Naruto had no need to hold onto that little kid anymore, but he suspected that he’d never be rid of him for good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The whole hero thing had been a bit overwhelming at first. While he was all for creating bonds with people, having so many around all the time was definitely a big change. And so, his morning escapades to the top of the mountain were more therapeutic than anything. He got to take a moment to breathe—though he was sure his younger self would hate to see him forgoing such an opportunity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But his heart was still hurting, and he needed time that he never seemed to get much of, these days. All he had lost, all that he had almost lost, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what he could have had</span>
  </em>
  <span>, weighed heavily in his chest. Sometimes he could ignore it, but it was always there. Waiting for his mind to wander.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t worry about it too often, though. That just wasn’t who he was. He had faith that everything would turn out alright in the end because that’s how it usually went. This should be no different.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Closing his eyes, he’d figured he’d get a quick nap in before going down and helping out on a few shifts. His mind was blissfully blank as his body gradually shut itself down— he guessed he was more tired than he thought…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had only seemed like he’d shut his eyes for a moment when he heard someone in the distance calling his name. Slowly he drifted back into consciousness, wincing against the sun’s now bright rays. He brought up a hand to rub at his eyes as he sat up, realizing that he’d definitely slept a lot longer than he’d meant to, if the ache in his back was any indication.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Above him, the voice was still going, shrill to his ears as his senses started up again, but familiar. He followed the sound, eyes trailing up to the very top of the mountain. A pink head of hair bobbed as she waved down to him and he found himself smiling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly awake, he scaled up the side of the mountain, landing easily beside his teammate within moments. She’d stepped back, allowing him room to make his entrance and shook her head, the endeared smile that she reserved for him was just as prominent as ever.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, for a hero, you sure are hard to find,” Sakura put her hands on her hips, scrutinizing him with her trademark exasperation.  “I’ve been looking for you all day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grinned, tossing his arms behind his head, “Aw, someone must have missed me! Gonna make good on a date you may have promised me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though she was well acquainted with his obvious attempts at flirting, he could tell that she was still ready to rear back and sock him if he felt too cocky. And as </span>
  <em>
    <span>not fun </span>
  </em>
  <span>as getting a Sakura punch to the face was, he’d grown a fondness for their little game. It was the one thing that always seemed to stay the same.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I came here to give you some news I think you’d like to hear.” She told him pointedly, but it lacked any real bite. It was good to see her, Naruto thought. Duties had kept Team 7 apart, and he hadn’t realized just how long it’d been. Maybe he’d risk a punch later on for old times sake…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lady Tsunade has a mission for us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto gaped, quickly forgetting his plan to provoke her, “You’re for real, Sakura?” Instantly he brightened. “I didn’t think they were dispatching our teams yet!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled at his infectious enthusiasm, “Well technically, we’re not being dispatched anywhere. It’s a stakeout mission.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He almost groaned, “From </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside </span>
  </em>
  <span>the village?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sakura nodded, “There’s been some break-ins at the Hokage Tower. Someone managed to infiltrate the archives and stole some highly sensitive documents.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At this, Naruto tensed, eyes flickering just over the edge of the mountain and to the pile of scrolls that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’d only borrowed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They laid just outside of Sakura’s view, but if she took another look, no doubt she would’ve spotted them. He tried to conceal the nervous sweat that had begun to form on his brow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, well,” He avoided Sakura’s eye as he racked his brain for a lie that she’d believe.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are we sure they just didn’t go missing?” He attempted. “With everything that went on, with uh, the village</span>
  <em>
    <span>, </span>
  </em>
  <span>maybe the archives took a hit too…?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And just his luck, she didn’t bat an eye at his inquiry. “Huh… You’ve got a point there,” She brought a hand up to her chin as she considered the thought. “They’re still trying to understand the full scale of the Akatsuki’s invasion. I suppose it’s possible that it could have been a reconnaissance mission in disguise.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Heh… Yeah,” Naruto nodded,  glad that she was able to spin his nonsense into something that made actual sense— in perfect Sakura fashion. “We should tell the old lady that’s probably what happened—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I will,” Sakura nodded to herself, cutting him off entirely. To her teammate she said, “Just to be sure though, I think we should go ahead and accept the mission. Besides,” she gave him an affectionate nudge. “It’s been a while since we’ve all been together. It’ll be just like old times right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He gulped, forcing himself to smile, “Yeah. It will…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Great!” She grinned happily, serving only to make Naruto feel worse. She turned to make her way down the path, but stopped in her tracks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, what do you do up here anyway?” She asked curiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh just naps and stuff… It’s kind of loud around the apartment and… yeah” Naruto decided on. “How’d you know I was up here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged, eyes twinkling in amusement,  “Old habits die hard, don’t they?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Considering his old knack for getting himself into trouble, he supposed she was right about that. A crisp statement written in red ink burned through his mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The mishandling of this information will result in punishment of the highest degree...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Damnit… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now he had to figure out a way to sneak all this stuff back. With his own team on high alert, he knew he was dead if anyone found out. Though with his feet back on the ground, problems never came in short supply, Naruto thought with a quiet sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m heading back to the hospital” Sakura broke through his inner turmoil. “You wanna come with? I’m sure our friends would </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> appreciate it,” she sang with an overly sweet voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> conversation. He tried not to make his discomfort visible as he plastered on an apologetic smile, “Nah… I’ve got a lot of work to get back to, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She huffed out a sigh, turning back down the trail, “Of course you do. You know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hinata </span>
  </em>
  <span>hasn’t seen you since the whole thing went down.” Sakura stopped, suddenly looking as if she’d said something she shouldn;t have. She waved her hands, chuckling nervously, “Not that she’d tell me, or anything, but I know how much you </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>roping yourself into work. Our other friends could do with a visit you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His stomach took a threatening lurch all of a sudden, but he pushed the feeling down— more so </span>
  <em>
    <span>forced </span>
  </em>
  <span>it down</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He frowned, scratching at his neck, “Yeah sorry… I just… Have a lot of stuff to do…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah Naruto…” She sighed, flinging a hand back in his direction. Before she completely disappeared behind the bend she shouted back, “Oh, right! Naruto!”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His teammate stuck a hand up and waved, before finally disappearing from view, “Happy Birthday!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks…” he called weakly after her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their shift started later on in the night, but for once, Naruto made sure to get there before everyone else did. After planting his contraband in some bushes, he relieved the squad on watch before them and tried to formulate some sort of plan of getting back into the Tower now that it was a hotspot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d taken </span>
  <em>
    <span>a bunch </span>
  </em>
  <span>of scrolls. Stuffing one or two down his shirt and just waltzing into the place was a nonstarter. He slid back against the tree he’d chosen as his post, drawing his hands down his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was supposed to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hero</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not off pulling the same childish pranks that he did when he was twelve. He huffed out a sigh, glancing up through the branches of the tree to the cloudy sky.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Turns out they’d be getting rain soon— a perfect way to end his birthday, he thought sullenly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d spent so much time agonizing over what he’d done that any sort of “birthday mood” he’d been in had instantly vanished. Not that he ever cared too much about his birthday. It was just a day. Maybe once or twice he’d get a “happy birthday,” but it wasn’t like he ever looked forward to it. He couldn’t even enjoy any of his favorite ramen with Ichiraku being temporarily closed for construction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So in short, his 17th birthday was just a little bit worse than all his other birthdays, but in hindsight, any day where he couldn’t have ramen was a day worse than the others.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His earpiece suddenly sprang to life as Sakura’s voice came into range on the radio.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Naruto, are you here yet? I’ve checked in with Sai and Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reflexively, he shoved a scroll farther into the bush before pressing his com and replying, “Uh, yeah. I got here early.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s unlike you,” Kakashi’s voice came through. “No big plans today?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi remembered, he thought with a smile. Who would’ve thought? “Nah. Getting a mission with you guys is more than enough though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw that’s sweet,” Sakura said, landing suddenly in the branches above him. As she jumped down, Naruto instinctively shot a glance towards the concealed scrolls. His teammate sat down beside him in the grass, “ I doubt you’ve got a good view of the tower down here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood up sharply, hoping to direct Sakura’s attention away from the bush, “I er, um. Just stretching before I sit in a tree all night, you know? Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sakura blinked up at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, “Uh huh…” Well. He was screwed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyway. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I talked to Kakashi-sensei and Lady Tsunade about the Akatsuki stealing our information thing, and they said that while it was unlikely, it was still probable. It’s a good idea to have in mind though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto jumped up to take his post, “Ah yeah. That makes sense.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Giving him a slight glance, she continued, “They mentioned that the archives have a special seal on them that only allowed only Hokage and their closest personnel, so it’s already difficult to get through.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto involuntarily rubbed at his thumb, and though the wounds from seals healed relatively quickly and every shinobi sported some scar or another on their thumbs, his own practically smoldered in Sakura’s presence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d been able to get into the archive with no problem, but Sakura wouldn’t know that, he thought in relief. He hadn’t exactly told her everything that had transpired back when… well… </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Sakura went on, deep in her trademarked Sakura Analysis,  “Either someone’s gotten past the seal or Konohamaru took a little too much out of your book.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He laughed nervously, “Well if Konohamaru had taken a few scrolls as a harmless prank there wouldn’t really be any need for punishment, right?” Sakura regarded him with a bemused look and Naruto stammered on, “I-I mean, I’ve pulled a lot of pranks in my day, he probably didn’t mean any harm by it! ” As sorry as he was for temporarily using Konohamaru as a scapegoat, it was all for a good cause; most definitely not to satisfy his own selfish desires to unearth a village secret.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sakura stood, preparing to leave for her post, “Even if it was Konohamaru, or someone else with blood of a Hokage, it’s still a big deal.” Before heading out, she flicked her green gaze up at him, “He’ll probably be in a lot of trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With Sakura having </span>
  <em>
    <span>generously </span>
  </em>
  <span> given him this new information, he resolved that he needed to get those scrolls back </span>
  <em>
    <span>as soon as possible</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few hours passed and he was considerably proud of the plan he’d come up with. Naruto had told his team that he’d set a steady round of shadow clones to take any blind spots the four of them couldn’t cover alone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And Kakashi, obviously impressed by his initiative, had told him to send one of his clones in to patrol the building, and Naruto thanked the gods that everything was working out in his favor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But honestly, it all seemed a bit </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>easy. A shadow clone would take a scroll— one or two every hour or so because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>an amatuer— make their way around the tower and replace the one inside. They piled the scrolls at the entrance of the door so the final clone could make one quick trip inside the super-off-limits archive and he’d get off scotch free, a relatively easy mission compared to previous escapades.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He handed off the last of the scrolls with a sigh. Not that he’d gotten any much of anything substantial from them, but he’d gone and gotten attached to them, to </span>
  <em>
    <span>rolls of parchment</span>
  </em>
  <span>, like an idiot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Each blotted out line, or blanked entry was his father’s. There were once actual records there with actual things written down. On paper, Minato Namikaze barely existed but as the weeks flew by, and Naruto’s memory of him faded, each and every reminder had become precious to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then there he was, depressed again. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a sharp wind whistled through the trees, working to drown out his sorrows. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto thought of his team, waiting for a perpetrator that was actually right under their noses and yes, admittedly, he felt a little bad for keeping them all out for nothing but Sakura was right; it </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been a while since they’d all been together and though they weren’t exactly taking any of those beloved trips across the country or even finding lost pets, the transmissions between them were brief, but they were enough.  It felt like it should have been enough, at least— it always had before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto sat in the branches of the tree, gazing past the rustling leaves and into the patches of sky beyond the clouds. His shadow clone was making its way up the stairs now and the archives lay just beyond the winding hallway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt each step, even as he sat such a great distance away, and that hole that he’d tried to patch up in his chest had gotten a little bigger. He didn’t mind. At least, he told himself he </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>mind. He wasn’t a kid anymore. There wasn’t a lot of room for self pity in his life. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still though, he thought, looking up at the white specks of moonlight filtering onto the grey leaves, he couldn’t help but feel a little…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Poof.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inside the building, his clone had dispersed, and Naruto sat up with a jolt. He scratched at his head, eyes glancing into the windows of the tower. He didn’t think that he’d lost so much concentration as to lose the link between his clones, but as he counted off all four of his other clones, his bond to them as clear as it had always been, he felt that something had to be off. It certainly hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt </span>
  </em>
  <span>like he’d released the jutsu. Maybe all this brooding nonsense was getting to his head…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But then, for just a second, he sensed his clone again. But the reading disappeared just as quickly as it had shown up. Though faint, he could gauge movement from inside the building.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood, jumping across the trees towards the tower, something about this gave him a bad feeling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Kakashi-sensei, there’s not anyone in the tower tonight, right?” He asked on his radio, almost hoping that someone really </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>decided to break into the Hokage’s archives— they’d catch them, easy. Then in the madness that ensued, he’d return the scrolls. But of course, he probably shouldn’t be betting on the prospect of the village’s sensitive information being at risk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not sure. Though I didn’t see anyone going in...” Kakashi came back. “Sai’s closest, I’ll send him in to check.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sai’s reply was naturally prompt, “On it—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, I’ve got it.” Naruto said, landing on the path and coming up to the dark building. It loomed before him, an ominous silhouette against lightning sparked sky.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slipping through the double doors, Naruto found that all was quiet. He looked up and down the hall before continuing on to the stairs, instinctively gathering up bits of nature energy. He still wasn’t a pro at the whole sage mode thing but collecting small amounts at a time slowly but surely unlocked his sage skills. Just a bit more and he’d be able to pinpoint anyone who might be concealing their chakra within the building.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the meantime, he blindly clambered up the flight that soon broke way into a hallway washed in a muted silver light. Feeling the faint pressure of sage mode settling in, he walked the halls, scanning the space around him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There was Kakashi and Sai and Sakura, and one, two, three</span>
  </em>
  <span>… his scope wavered and the little hold he had on his sense faded. He’d vaguely sensed the other two shadow clones and figured that his connection must have been severed before the clone had dispersed— explaining the movement he’d gaged earlier. Which was weird, yeah, but at least the village was safe from invaders.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could return the scrolls, finish up the rest of their shift and call it a day. His birthday would be over before too long now, but maybe Ichiraku would be open later on if he came early enough. A perfect way to celebrate a mission well done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or…</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Or </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he told himself sternly. He was righitng a wrong and had gotten away with it. No point in taking any more risks this month. Gods know where </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>tended to get him. Naruto came to a stop at the windows as a perfect view of the Hokage mountain made itself visible in the patches of moonlight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lightning cracked in the sky and droplets of water began to beat against the window. He blinked back to attention, his com crackling in tandem as Kakashi spoke, </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘“Naruto, if there’s nothing to report, then we’ll convene for a strategy meeting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t we supposed to start each mission with a strategy session?” Sai asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then there was the expected excuse: “Well… I just thought we’d do so well without one!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to him, Sai,” Naruto could practically hear Sakura pinching the bridge of her nose. “He was just too </span>
  <em>
    <span>lazy.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, you could stand to have a little faith in me…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Naruto wanted to laugh at the exchange. The banter was almost nostalgic, like it should’ve filled up some part of his chest with happiness. But it was faint and Naruto could barely cling to the smile that had budded at Kakashi’s half-hearted excuses or Sai’s painful obliviousness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Yeah.” He mumbled in response, tearing his eyes away from the window and kept an eye out for the door to the archives. But as he approached the door, he realized that he hadn’t come across the scroll his clone had dropped yet. Examining the pile of scrolls left by the archive, he guessed that the clone hadn’t made it to the rendezvous point after all. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shit…. He laid the scrolls out, counting them </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. When he’d ultimately come up one short, he looked up and down the dimly lit hall. He was sure that he’d sent the last scroll in. Inwardly groaning, he bit down on his thumb, drawing a small amount of blood.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hopefully on his way back, the missing document would turn up and if not… what was one missing scroll when the rest had been returned, right? He sighed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And just as he thought his plan would go off without a hitch—</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Movement. All but forgetting his predicament, he honed his senses on the inside of the archive. Someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>there. But he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> he hadn’t sensed anyone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His hand hovered above an already unlocked seal that he had only just made out in the gloomy light. As he dropped into a fighting stance, footsteps sounded from behind the door. He quickly dispersed all but one of his clones, drawing all his concentration on the potential battle ahead while a clone alerted his team. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thunder rumbled in the distance and Naruto felt the singular pull of the tether between him and his jutsu, but he was still feeling some residual connection. These sorts of after effects were about as pesky as walking into a spider web and all it took was a simple brush but Naruto found that the tendrils remained. It was then that a series of thoughts hit him at once.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hadn’t he had four shadow clones left instead of six?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Why had he sensed one of them behind the door?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So when the door was unlocked from the inside and shoved open, Naruto’s thoughts all ran together, crashing and stopping all cognition as he stared down at the sixth clone, frozen in the doorway as they met each other’s equally stunned gaze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks so much to all who commented! I look forward to taking this journey with you all. This was a lot longer than I anticipated and I could apologize for the length but.. I won't! Enjoy!</p>
<p>(If you're coming from FF, then this is just the second half of chapter one with a lot of editing.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Boruto Uzumaki was a pretty nice guy, if he did say so himself. He was easy to talk to, quick to make friends, and was always up for a good time. Putting people at ease was his specialty and among other things, he was a pretty talented shinobi, even as just a genin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But despite the many </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>qualities that he had, sometimes it could all be overlooked by a single flaw.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Crows cawed overhead as they flew across a pale orange sky. Boruto watched them drift off into the sunset until they could not longer be seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Geesh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he sighed, examining his paint-stained hands. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>wouldn’t give to be a bird right about now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto stood, stretching out his aching muscles. Working his shoulder, he winced as he gathered up all the empty cans of paint remover and brushes, using the rope to hoist them back down to the ground. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His supervisor had long since made his leave, saying that he was confident Boruto knew the ropes well enough to be able to clear up on his own. Boruto had struggled not to bite out a few smart words in retort— he was already in enough trouble as it was, there wasn’t any reason to rub it in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The empty cans hit the ground below with a loud clatter, and Boruto released the pulley with a sigh. Before making his descent from the row of stone heads, Boruto looked out onto the village as a wave of electric lights flickered on and thought better of leaving early. So begrudgingly, he sat, legs crossed atop his father’s visage, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>because he was too tired to scale anymore mountains. The exhaustion weighed in heavily as he watched the sun dip down beyond the horizon and he was left to simmer in his accumulated irritation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t begin to understand why everyone was making such a big deal about his little masterpiece </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>time, he thought with an eye roll. Even from here, he could make out the bright lights of the Hokage Tower as it stood, a beacon for all except him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know, you’re getting a little too old for this sort of thing.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The nagging voice was persistent in bombarding his thoughts. Boruto let out another irritated huff. His so-called best friend sure did enjoy acting like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>much better than him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could still see them. Shikadai, Mitsuki, and Sarada. Sarada had been all too angry to say anything to him— aside from yelling, that much he was pretty used to— but Shikadai… he’d always been on Boruto’s side or too lazy to say anything at all. Today though, Boruto saw something new, something strikingly reminiscent of annoyance in his usually neutral face as he offered his “words of wisdom” and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>pissed him off.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>None of them had a single clue. Not Shikadai. Not Sarada. And though Mitsuki had simply watched the whole altercation unfold, not even he could be truly sympathetic to what Boruto was going through.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed, flinging a pebble off the edge of the rock, hearing it clatter against the protrusions as it made its way to the ground. Despite how it had </span>
  <em>
    <span>looked, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boruto had really tried this time. Even though he was pissed at Sarada for yelling at him in front of everyone, making </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>look like a stupid jerk, and even though he felt that Shikadai had betrayed him— which he most certainly had— Boruto really had tried to make them understand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But apparently, that was one of the few things Boruto didn’t know how to do. He couldn’t form the words to explain why he felt what he felt, or why he did the things that he did, but he’d never had to before. Everyone knew how he was and there wasn’t any need for any explanation until today when everyone up and decided to interrogate him about it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A sharp wind picked up and Boruto shivered on the mountain side. Somewhere in the distance he could hear the distant pop of firecrackers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So preparations were already underway, then. They were a day early, Boruto thought offhandedly. Out of what he guessed was habit, he began to search for the splashes of light against the darkening sky, chin resting in his palm. But with another couple of claps and a few more flashes of colorful light, he figured that he had better things to do than sit on a cold mountain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto took his time walking home— it was the last place he really wanted to be, but there wasn’t anyone to hang out with until curfew. So as torturous as it was, Boruto found himself braving the bustling crowds of the village’s nighttime scene— well, it was more like the hours between the younger kids heading home and the adults coming out to begin their drinking escapades. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though he didn’t have to deal with the little kids pulling pranks on unsuspecting bystanders or the drunken antics of the village’s night owls, he could do well without any of the other attention tonight. He loved the villagers, don’t get him wrong, but he was smart enough to know that when they looked at him, they never really saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> And so, when villagers smiled and waved eagerly at him like he’d done something worthy of praise to begin with, Boruto </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wished he’d gotten a little bit more of his mother’s genes. More times than he could count, he’d considered the difference if instead of a bright, luminous blond, he’d gotten paired with a dark, unsuspecting head of hair like his sister’s. Boruto was practically a walking, talking carbon-copy of the most irritating man on the planet. He stopped in his trek, looking up as the thought struck him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, that was a valid reason to be frustrated, right? Boruto slung his arms behind his head as he considered it.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, something about wanting to be independent.</span>
  </em>
  <span>.. That could work. It was sort of true, at least.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No… he sighed. Shikadai of all people wouldn’t buy that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A familiar scent caught his attention and Boruto found that he’d unconsciously walked to his favorite restaurant. He stopped, almost fearing that he’d see familiar faces through the window. He was in the middle of turning around and heading the other way, before stopping in his tracks and scoffing at his almost-retreat. He had no reason to run. If his friends wanted to treat him differently out of nowhere, then well… that was on them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He haughtily marched up and swung open the doors, making a show of disregard to whoever may have been sitting in their usual booths. The owner had come from the back at Boruto’s sudden racket, but seeing as it was one of his beloved regulars, sans his usual group, he raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Funny seeing you here by yourself.” And Boruto, who had been doing a good job of pretending to search the menu, spared a quick glance over at the booths seated by the window. They were occupied, but not by any of his friends. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He felt that he should’ve been comforted that they hadn’t come without him, but instead he felt what little shred of hope he had wither away and his appetite followed suit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So can I get you the usual?” The owner had already gone behind the counter to ring him up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto managed a weak smile, shaking his head, “Sorry, not today.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His response was met with a surprised blink as Boruto turned away from the register and back out the way he came.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing as he had no interest in sulking around the village until curfew, Boruto decided to brave the trip home.  It wasn’t like he was exclusively </span>
  <em>
    <span>avoiding </span>
  </em>
  <span>it anyway. There was nothing— or rather, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no one</span>
  </em>
  <span> to avoid.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the same old same old, Boruto reasoned, turning the corner to his street. He’d gotten angry over something </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid </span>
  </em>
  <span>his dad did, and he made sure everyone knew it, though he kinda wished that everyone wasn’t so up in arms about the whole thing. He’d given the Hokage monument </span>
  <em>
    <span>helpful </span>
  </em>
  <span>additions many a time before and he’d gotten in fights with his father even more than that. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto conveniently slowed his pace at seeing his roof come into view, kicking up gravel and listening to the occasional pop of firecrackers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling the slow rumble of his empty stomach, he figured that maybe he should have eaten something after all. Typically, the maelstrom of emotions in his stomach didn’t pair too well with food, but he hadn’t eaten that morning either. Maybe there were leftovers...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Opening the front gate, he bypassed the already accumulating pile of flowers and gift baskets and other frivolities. But rather than going inside right away, Boruto loitered on the front door for a bit— not avoiding anything though, just… the air was nice tonight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sat outside, boredly watching the moths flit to the outdoor lights, and it was when a family of three came to place their gift for the Hokage that Boruto let out a loud sneeze that he realized how cold it actually was. He gave an apologetic wave to the startled family, and even though he wanted to do anything but, Boruto steeled himself to head inside. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m home,” he called, kicking off his shoes and nudging them in line beside his sister’s.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And right on cue, his mother poked her head around the corner, and Boruto felt those simmering emotions die down just a bit as he mustered up a smile. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, she wrapped her arms around him, bringing his forehead to rest against her shoulder. And Boruto wasn’t a baby anymore or anything, but as he inhaled the faint scent of lavender, and as he returned her firm embrace, he figured he’d really needed a hug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Friends were dumb. His dad was stupid. Expectations were pointless. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And his mother, probably his favorite person on the planet, knew all that without him having to tell her. She ran her fingers through his hair and Boruto couldn’t help but feel soothed. Pulling back, she cupped her hands around his face, brushing the stray hairs out of his eyes. He studied her in her mannerisms, finding one of those sad looks of concern etched into her features that made his heart clench.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you doing?” She asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And still his smile held up, his mother’s presence melting his own worries away. “I’m fine. Great, actually.” He shrugged, gently removing himself from her hold and making his way to the stairs. “I told you it was alright. I kinda changed my mind about wanting him to come anyway.” He added sarcastically, “A lot of pressure, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you’re disappointed, honey, but if you wanted, Himawari and I could go. Maybe your aunt too?” Boruto didn’t even have to turn around to see that his mother had taken on his </span>
  <em>
    <span>least </span>
  </em>
  <span>favorite expression. The one that was apologetic for something that wasn’t even her fault. He stopped halfway up the stairs, hands clenching in his pocket. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, really. It’s okay. It’s not even that big of a deal.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You never ask your father to go to these things so I know you were really proud to showcase your skills—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nothing I’m not used to.” Boruto muttered. Talking about it made him pissed all over again and he knew how much she hated it when the two of them fought. It was best to make her think that he didn’t care, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>— he’d gotten everything he needed off his chest. What feelings remained after that were relative.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He continued his sluggish trek up the stairs, “I think I’m just going to head to bed… kinda tired from today.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can bring some dinner up if you’re hungry!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto turned, giving her half a smile, “Nah, I already ate. Thanks though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-Oh… okay...” She wanted to say more, </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> more, Boruto knew, because that’s who she was. Boruto guessed that she was the only reason he was at least partially sane.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well that wasn’t completely true. As vexing as his </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>-problems were, he had two people he could always count on in his life, which, logically speaking, was a lot better than none. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His second reason for sanity came bounding out of her room as soon as he reached the top of the stairs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boru-nii!” He braced himself for the impact of his little sister crashing into his middle. She looked up from his chest, shining two bright blue orbs up at him as she grinned her thousand-kilowatt smile, “You’re home!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh huh,” he pulled at her cheek teasingly, “It’d be nice if you didn’t try to send me flying down the stairs.” She giggled despite the joking, rubbing at the whiskers on her cheek.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe if you didn’t stay out so late all the time, I wouldn’t have to!” His sister rocked back and forth on her bare heels, practically buzzing with Himawari-energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto chuckled, walking past with a mumbled, “Is that so?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Himawari cocked her head as he passed by, obviously surprised to see him walk straight towards his room rather than entertaining her with his own inquiries about her day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s the matter?” Himawari bounced after him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just tired.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t look tired.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said, turning the handle to his bedroom door. Boruto looked back at her, ruffling her already messy shock of raven hair,  “I’ll play with you in the morning, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Himawari crossed her arms at his put out tone, scowling. Nose turned up in the air, she did an about face, proclaiming, “I’m not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boru. I don’t always need you to play with me. Maybe I’m doing something important.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds great.” Boruto replied offhandedly, closing the door behind him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto went over and flopped down onto his bed to the sound of Himawari’s indignant stomping away, something of a smile forming. Though temporary, he was glad he could count on his mother and sister to make him feel better. At least for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now though, in the silence of his own room he felt the weight of the day’s events gradually surging forth, and he let out a slow groan. He turned over on his back, arm draped over his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Come on, just sleep. Go to sleep... </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though he wasn’t all too sure if trying to force himself to sleep would yield any results but as his once-best friend would say, this whole day had been a </span>
  <em>
    <span>drag</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion and his muscles were aching, but sleep evaded him. Boruto tossed and turned, more restless than before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t care. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He had to remind himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t care that all your friends turned on you. That </span>
  </em>
  <span>no one</span>
  <em>
    <span> seems to care about his side of things.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But despite all his persuasiveness, he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he’d gotten his last strike. That maybe… his friends wouldn’t forgive him this time and Boruto hated that </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the reason why.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, physical exhaustion lulled him into a brief sleep, and he awoke some time later to a knock and the slow turn of his doorknob. Thinking his mother decided to check in on him, he rose from his drool-stained pillow, groggily rubbing his eyes. He’d wished he’d stayed asleep when he saw who actually paid him a visit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, were you asleep? I, uh, didn’t know you’d be sleeping so early.” His father chuckled sheepishly, poking his head in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto stared back blankly, and his chuckling died off into an awkward attempt at a smile. Naruto stood, shifting his gaze about the room.  He rubbed his hands against his pants as they sat— a habit he’d picked up whenever he didn’t know how to spark conversation with his son— but stopped halfway, digging into one of his pockets. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Here,” His father held out his headband, making no move to advance beyond the threshold. “You, uh, dropped this earlier.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto eyed the silver insignia as it shone in the moonlight. He gruffly took the headband, shoving it into his own pocket. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh... you fought well today. Even I have to admit you caught me off guard.” Ah, so he’d finally decided to address the elephant in the room. “Your form has gotten better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto scoffed, turning away, “Not that I have you to thank for that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He flinched, “I… didn’t think you wanted me helping with your training anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… alright.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And the room fell into that uncomfortable silence again. The one that left Boruto more anxious than he’d ever let on. He could feel his nails tearing through the skin on his palms as he scrutinized the floorboards, trying as hard as he could to shut out his father’s presence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Why was he still here? Boruto couldn’t help but wonder in irritation. He’d made it more than clear that he didn’t have anything to say to him so why couldn’t he understand that he wanted to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>? That he didn’t want to go through some pathetic attempt of having a heart to heart when he already felt crappy enough.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But his parents were very different from each other. While his mother knew his moods down to the smallest twitch, his father was hopelessly oblivious and went on poking into things that were better left alone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you and your friends.” He finally spoke up.  “I know things kind of got a little out of hand.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ah yes. “A little out of hand,” or rather, what Boruto’s Big Catastrophe as everyone was likely calling it. What can he say, his friends approached him several weeks ago about putting on a display presentation of their skills, which he, admittedly, had been looking forward to. He’d grown in the past few months and figured that he and his dad hadn’t had a big argument in a while so what the heck, why not invite him? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But as it turned out, the whole thing had been a ploy to get him on board with the show that the other genin had </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> planned— a gift for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hokage’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>birthday the next day. After revealing the truth to him that afternoon at practice, his friends had explained that they knew how Boruto would react, so they’d kept it a secret and yeah, maybe a small part of him knew they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>right, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but his frustration and anger over this whole display reached a boiling point when his father decided to pay an unexpected visit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>One thing led to another and he’d ended up ruining the whole thing for everyone when he decided that a physical </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight </span>
  </em>
  <span>against his father was the way to express himself in the moment. Long story short, Boruto had been subdued, to the amusement of his father, who’d dangled him by his wrist in front of his classmates, anger of his friends for “making it about him”, and as a result, he’d left his very own gift on the Hokage Mountain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Happy freaking birthday, Dad.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s it to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Boruto muttered in response, feeling his anger and </span>
  <em>
    <span>embarrassment</span>
  </em>
  <span> from early come back with a vengeance. To think he’d exhausted all his frustrations for the day; his father never ceased to push him to new heights. “It doesn’t concern you, so back off.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto frowned, “I don’t know… it kind of seemed like everything was fine until I showed up…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not everything is about </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boruto snapped. “For </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’d like it if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>the center of attention. It always backfires onto </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto shifted from the doorway then, subtly trying to cross that invisible barrier that lay between them. Boruto was quicker than that though, and the illustrious Nanadaime Hokage was halted in his conquest into foreign territory by an icy glare from his twelve year old son.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So there he stood, glued into place with that pitiful look on his face that Boruto hated so much that it sent his blood boiling. “I’m sorry. If I did anything wrong just tell me and I’ll—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop it</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop </span>
  </em>
  <span>talking about it.” Boruto groaned. He rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache emerging. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> He didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>this. He didn’t want his father to try and make amends. They were always empty and meaningless anyway. Boruto couldn’t understand why no matter what he seemed to do, no matter how many times he had to push him away, he kept trying to make things “better.” He took a deep breath, collecting himself as he spoke coolly, “You’ve done enough. I don’t want you ‘fixing’ anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto, I just want to know if everything is okay. Your friends… If there’s a problem then you shouldn’t let one disagreement tear apart your friendships.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto gaped incredulously. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>lecturing him now?</span>
  </em>
  <span> How many ways did he need to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop</span>
  </em>
  <span> until his father got it through his thick skull that he didn’t want him meddling?. Boruto pressed his face into his hands, feeling aggravation eating away at him, “Do you really think that </span>
  <em>
    <span>lecturing me </span>
  </em>
  <span>is going to solve anything?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just trying to help…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And I said I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t need your help.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” His emotions were festering dangerously as he fumbled with the pack of weapons pressed uncomfortably to his side. While it wasn’t much, distracting his hands with something other than digging into his palms or pulling at his hair served as well as it always had. He unbuckled the bag and went to deposit it in his closet, his father’s eyes never leaving him.  Irritably, Boruto scoffed as he rummaged for space in his closet. “Like I would need it from you of all people anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto picked up the edge in his father’s voice when he received a clipped, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you even care?” Boruto deadpanned. He bent down to remove the sheath from his leg.  “Really. Why are you here? Because you felt bad about lying to me? Or maybe you realize that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>embarrassed me</span>
  </em>
  <span> in front of my friends. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Again. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Well don’t worry about it. Like I told Mom,” He breathed out a sigh as he put his gear up on the shelf, “It’s nothing I’m not used to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His father heaved out a regretful sigh, “I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie</span>
  </em>
  <span> to you, Boruto. And I thought that you wanted—” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted one</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing, Dad.” The door slid shut a little bit harder than he’d intended but Boruto couldn’t bring himself to care when he met his father’s eye. “I actually wanted you to be there for this </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing and you can’t even make time for that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could tell that his father was getting equally frustrated as he fought to explain himself. “You stormed out before I could say anything this morning. My schedule filled up last minute and I—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>excuses</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” He snapped. “I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care </span>
  </em>
  <span>that you’re the Hokage. I couldn’t care less. As my </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you couldn’t put me first for once. You never do, and I don’t know why I expected differently.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto, you know it’s not like that.” The irritability in Naruto’s voice had been replaced by remorse and Boruto didn’t understand how it was so easy for him to resort to being sorry, giving him empty apologies and reassurances and after all these years couldn’t even see how shallow they were. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto turned his gaze away, giving an airy chuckle, “And you know what </span>
  <em>
    <span>sucks</span>
  </em>
  <span>? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sarada </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked you to attend a rehearsal and you seemed to have no problem with showing up when </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked, did you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you would just </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen—” Again </span>
  </em>
  <span>with the ‘woe is me’ attitude, Boruto grit his teeth. All it did was paint Boruto as the bad guy and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Something his father was particularly good at without fail was appearing pitiful. Being the “bigger person.” So at every turn, every disagreement, Boruto gave into his own anger, not entirely understanding it for himself but finding his flames being fed by every despondent smile thrown his way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want to. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Can’t you see that? </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t want to talk to you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He very nearly shouted, frantically losing any hold on his temper. He searched the Hokage’s eyes for some sign of understanding, something that finally </span>
  <em>
    <span>clicked </span>
  </em>
  <span>inside him. There was this burning sensation in his chest and all he wanted was for it to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He clenched his fists, knowing that his father wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re never there for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> let alone the rest of this family, so I don’t see why I have to listen to anything you have to say to me.” He lowered his voice, glaring at the floor as he spoke, knowing that he’d feel guiltier if his mother had to intervene in another one of their screaming matches.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto’s voice then shifted to that scolding tone of his, “I understand a lot happened today, and that you’re frustrated, but I’m your </span>
  <em>
    <span>father.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto started, hopelessly at a loss for words for a few moments. That wasn’t what he </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant. Now</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>a disrespectful brat</span>
  </em>
  <span> simply because his father couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>what he was desperately trying to get him to understand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was no point in hoping, though, Boruto realized. There was always going to be a divide between him and his father that only grew wider as the years went by. He met his father’s eye, an empty resolution painted on his face, “And you’ve done a hell of a job at that, haven’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look I get that you’re angry, I get it.” Cue his father’s attempts at diffusing the situation, likely taken from his mother, Boruto observed with an eye roll.  “But you know how busy I get this time of year…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The village can do without you for </span>
  <em>
    <span>an hour</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Why he was still fighting this, he didn’t know. He wasn’t angry… at least, he shouldn’t have been. He didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That had been the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>point</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but the burning in his chest had only gotten hotter with each </span>
  <em>
    <span>bullshit </span>
  </em>
  <span>excuse.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not that easy, Boru.” His father deflated— ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>trick again. “I know you wanted me to go but some important things came up, and I had to be there for it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boruto wanted to scream, but instead he buried his nails into his palms, biting out, “It’s just a stupid birthday party. It’s not even that big of a deal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust me, I’d love it if my birthday wasn’t some huge event but… the village started doing this to see me happy and well…” He sighed, and Boruto scowled at him. He was probably beyond ecstatic that he got an over the top, national birthday party every year. “I have to support them. To have the village come together like this always been my dream—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>village </span>
  </em>
  <span>this. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>village </span>
  </em>
  <span>that. The burning in his chest had reached </span>
  <em>
    <span>scorching </span>
  </em>
  <span>and suddenly everything </span>
  <em>
    <span>burned</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “You’d think at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>one thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> in your life wouldn’t be something you check off on your stupid list of dreams, but apparently your family’s no different.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And something in the air changed. His father had gone still, and the air around him lost its typical glow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that… is that what you really think?” His expression, Boruto noticed, had changed again. Instead of the frustrated exasperation that usually found its way to both of them or that docility that plagued him whenever Boruto went on offense, there was something of genuine shock there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… sorry.” Naruto mumbled, eyes wide and shiny. His voice was quiet and he made no efforts to justify his actions, no attempts to turn it into Boruto’s fault. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto looked up, staring at him incredulously. The feeling in his chest had subsided, replaced with a pit in his stomach. He would never understand his father. Why was he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>standing there?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The great and powerful Naruto Uzumaki had been reduced to nothing before his very eyes and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>pissed him off </span>
  </em>
  <span>because this was the guy his friends fought so hard to please, the one the villagers praised day and night.  He didn’t understand and he was just really tired and angry and </span>
  <em>
    <span>frustrated</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just leave,” Boruto said dismissively, not enjoying this strange feeling that had overcome him. “It’s whatever. Go and enjoy your gifts and praises and your stupid birthday with the village.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto…” His father rubbed the back of his neck. Boruto could see him searching in vain for the words that usually came so easily for him in any other situation. “I...I do my best, okay? It’s not perfect, I know but… I really do try.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And the tiniest bit of him wanted to make do with the apology, no matter how undecided Boruto was about it. He was tired and really wanted to go to bed, but apparently he still had some anger left to spare, the burning coming back tenfold because he had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>gaul </span>
  </em>
  <span>to claim that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What a load of shit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And it had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>easy for him to apologize. Everything was always so </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy </span>
  </em>
  <span>for him and near impossible for Boruto and </span>
  <em>
    <span>he just didn’t get it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Confusion poured into the boiling emotions in his heart. The apology may have been genuine… but why did his chest still hurt so much?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know why he was shaking, or why he’d felt so angered by the apology. His nails sank deep into his palms because he couldn’t understand how he was supposed to be okay with being disappointed, time after time, to be okay with watching his friends paint him as the villain because they didn’t understand, to be okay with this </span>
  <em>
    <span>suffocating </span>
  </em>
  <span>feeling</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>know what I’m dealing with. With </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You’re constantly making things worse and it should be so easy for you to back off but </span>
  <em>
    <span>you don’t.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>His emotions bubbled hotly inside him, but ever so slowly they simmered down, the yelling dousing the fire burning in his chest. So he kept at it, even when his father could finally see that he’d snapped for good this time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naruto took a step towards him, radiating concern that slipped off him like butter. “Boruto, hey, calm down—” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span> “</span><em><span>Don’t</span></em> <em><span>tell me to calm down.</span></em><span>” He was sick and tired of being placated.  “You don’t know anything about what I go through everyday and why </span><em><span>would you? </span></em><span>You </span><em><span>of all people </span></em><span>wouldn’t know what it’s like to be a good parent.”</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His chest was heaving by the time that he’d gotten it all out, and a small part of him felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But no sooner had he let out his accumulated grievances, there was a tangible spark in the air and Boruto flinched. His father’s face had turned to stone and the hard stare he gave him practically cut through Boruto’s dissipating anger. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can be a real brat sometimes, you know that?” He spoke, voice low. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The amount of emotion Boruto could feel radiating off him now made him stiffen. What had he said…? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His father turned toward the door, hand clenching the knob. Before he left, he turned to issue him a burning glare, “I know that I can’t help how you feel about me, despite what you may think.” Boruto could make out the slight tremor in his voice and he was having trouble comprehending how things had turned again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But your friends. You should make things right with them.” He shifted his gaze away. “Take it from someone who was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone </span>
  </em>
  <span>his whole childhood: treasure your comrades. You can always count on them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated in the doorway, as if he wanted to say more, but decided against it. After issuing a terse “Goodnight” Boruto was left standing in the center of his room, alone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood there, his mind sluggishly taking in all that had transpired. He’d said something he shouldn’t have, that was for sure. But he hadn’t... he hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go that far, or have his father take it in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> way. Boruto knew that his father’s childhood was a testier subject that he’d never really understand, and he didn’t think that… well he didn’t think his father would’ve gotten that </span>
  <em>
    <span>upset</span>
  </em>
  <span> about it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto numbly sunk back down into his bed, burying his face in his pillow. He hadn’t wanted to talk. He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>said </span>
  </em>
  <span>that. Naruto knew what would happen, but he stayed anyway. It wasn’t Boruto’s fault… right?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taking a deep exhale, he turned his head over to face the wall. He felt guilt unearth itself deep in his gut, but instead of a quiet rumbling that he could ignore if he wanted, it was large and imposing, flooding all of his thoughts and making the sweet escape of unconsciousness impossible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He… was sorry. He knew he shouldn’t have said what he did and he didn’t know why it was so difficult to control his temper. He just knew that in the moment, he never cared. Feelings be damned, yelling always diffused the knot of tension in his chest. But he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>sorry. Clenching his pillow, he wondered if he should be the one to apologize for once...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Light from the hall suddenly flooded into his room, painting his wall orange. Through the fringe of his bangs, he could see Himawari’s shadow creeping into his room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto?” She whispered. “Are you still awake?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sat up, and turned to her, careful not to make his exhaustion visible, “Yeah, what is it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His sister was glued to the door, and she scuffed at the floor with her foot. “I…um,” she began quietly. “I heard you guys yelling.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto’s shoulders slumped and he guiltily rubbed at his neck as he swung his legs over the side of his bed, “Ah, sorry about that Hima…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is...is everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It really wasn’t and he felt his throat clench at the inquiry, but regardless, he pinned up a smile, nodding firmly, “Yeah, everything is cool now. You know how it goes.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t look convinced in the slightest, but easily crossed into his room, clambering up on his bed and wrapping him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry that you had to have a fight.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And while he most certainly didn’t feel all that much better about the situation, Himawari was only trying to help. He tapped her arms, and she released her hold, watching him inquisitively. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really, I’m fine. What’s up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well um… I was wondering...” She pursed her lips, suddenly looking as if she didn’t want to ask him after all. “If… you had gotten a present for Dad yet…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He tensed, wringing his still paint-stained hands together. Well </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>he had… but even the paint job he had done was starting to make him feel a little sick. Unconsciously, he scratched at his chest, feeling that tight ball start to wind up again. “No,” he decided on saying. “It slipped my mind. Why? Weren’t you going to draw him a picture or something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her face screwed up and she visibly deflated, “Well I was but then… I don’t know,” His sister sighed, picking at the hem of the oversized shirt she was wearing. “It doesn’t really feel right, so now I don’t have anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you were hoping to mooch off me for a present?” He teased. “Oh how the tables have turned.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She scoffed, affronted by the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>she, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Himawari Uzumaki, would be outdone by her slacker brother. Delivering a swift jab to his shoulder she responded pointedly, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>! I have a plan. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> came to ask if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted in on it, but if you’re just going to be mean…” There was a sly smirk on her face, and while any other day, Boruto would have gladly turned around and gone to sleep, leaving her to whatever masterpiece she had planned, this burning in his chest was incessant. Maybe this would help. Just a little at least…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay fine,” he said, as her smirk grew into a self-satisfied beaming. “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, well that’s kind of hard to explain, and I don’t want you to say no yet, so I’ll take you to it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto scratched at his head, “Okay…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on! It’s downstairs!” His sister jumped off the bed and made a beeline towards the hallway. He was starting to have regrets, but he figured that it was too late to turn back now</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Himawari was crouched at the top of the stairs, glancing through the railings and into the kitchen. Boruto stood over her, tipping his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> “Hey what are you—?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His sister yanked him down to her level and held up a finger to her lips. She pointed down at the dinner table where their parents finished up dinner. He couldn’t see much because it was a horrible position for reconnaissance, but that didn’t stop Himawari from intently watching their parents.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“-just a long day today, and tomorrow’s gonna be a whole lot worse.” Boruto had come around at the tail end of the conversation but couldn’t help the twinge he felt. His father drew his hands down his face, and even from far away, Boruto could now make out the bags under his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their mother frowned as he stood and helped her clear the table. “Is there anything I can do? I know it’s not much but maybe I can attend some of the meetings in your place. I’ll call Shikamaru and ask if he—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s alright.” Naruto chuckled, depositing the dishes in the sink. “Just a regular day for a Hokage.” Boruto watched his mother’s shoulders droop, and his jaw clenched. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really, I’m sure I could take something off your load—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hinataaa,” Their father whined, taking the remained dishes from her hands. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>promise </span>
  </em>
  <span>that everything’s going to be alright. You don’t have to worry about me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But of course, worry she would. It was what she did. She twiddled her now idle fingers, watching as he worked his way around the kitchen.  Naruto let out a yawn, stretching his arms over his head, before dropping them and planting a peck on Hinata’s head in passing. “I’m gonna turn in a little early tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small smile graced their mother’s face as she gazed at the sink, filled with soapy water and semi-scrubbed dishes. “I’ll be back in a minute.” she called after him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their father stepped out into the hall, rubbing his eyes as he went back to his room. Himawari ducked back behind the corner, making sure she was out of sight and Boruto followed suit. They heard the telltale sound of a door creaking shut and his sister turned to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shot him a thumbs up, “Okay, now all you have to do is distract Mom until I get done, it shouldn’t take long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto sighed, “I still don’t know what this plan is…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just trust me, please Boru?” She gave him one of her many Little Sister looks and he knew he was trapped regardless of what he had to say. “ It’s really cool and I’m sure it’ll help Daddy feel better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Geesh, you’d think I’d be able to say no to you just once.” He stood and gingerly headed down to fulfil his duties as scapegoat when Himawari’s sneaking around eventually got them both caught.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His mother was putting a pot in a cabinet when he wordlessly began scrubbing the plates in the sink. She looked over at him and smiled, “Oh, you didn’t have to do that; there were only a few left, and I know you weren’t feeling well.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the corner of his eye, he made out Himawari casually skipping down the hall. Turning back to the suds, he shrugged, “I figured you might need help so...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed thoughtfully, taking the plate he handed her and drying it with a towel. And so their system continued, no words passing between them as Boruto washed and she dried. Usually, they worked together in comfortable silences but the tension from earlier still rested in his shoulders, making him more and more anxious as he passed another plate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” His mother glanced at his aggressive scrubbing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto flinched, dropping a pan in the water at her sudden attention. He shoved his hands into the murky water, sifting around. “Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I noticed that you and your father both seem to be off…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So everyone knew</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Boruto grimaced. Now he was cornered, and he really didn’t want to talk about it any further as he feared the burning would make a long awaited return.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I let you both work things out on your own as much as I can,” She continued softly, always so caring and concerned for him that it only made him feel that much worse. “But I think it’s time you talked to him—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He yanked his hands from the water with a wince, blood oozed from a large cut on his hand. His mother’s eyes went wide as she yelped, quickly scrambling for his hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Boruto! Oh my god, are you okay!?” She turned his hand over in her own, using the cloth to pat away all the dish soap. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-Yeah I’m okay,” He gave a sidewards glance at the knife bobbing at the surface before sinking into the foggy depths. It was only a shallow wound, but large enough to make a show. “I’ll just… go and dress this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His mother’s eyes shot up to him, and the horror on her face made him falter. Boruto glanced at his hand, eying the cut as it pumped out fresh blood. Okay, maybe he had taken it a bit far…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The shock had died down and a deeper concern replaced it. “Yes,” she let out a shaky breath. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>, be more careful next time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pressed his hands together, using a steady stream of his chakra to sew the tissues back together. Biting his lip, he nodded firmly, unable to meet her eye. She had just been trying to help…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll try… ‘Night Mom…” He’d heard Himawari scamper up the stairs a while ago, and even though he’d just dug a bigger hole of guilt to be buried in, he figured he might as well figure what other mess he’d gotten himself into.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Back upstairs in her room, Boruto walked in to find a scroll spread across Himawari’s floor. Upon his arrival, she eagerly patted the floor next to her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shutting the door behind him, he eyed the parchment with a dubious glance. “Um… what is this? Did you take this from Dad’s study?” He huffed, “You know a lot of the stuff in there is classified, you can get into a lot of trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head, “I made sure of it. This is his own personal jutsu.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay… why is it here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cause I figured Dad’s been real busy and all with not sleeping and coming home late and not being able to finish work—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Could you get to the point?” Boruto cut in impatiently. “I still don’t know what I’m doing here”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” She gave him </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>look and he took the hint to let her finish. “I found this one jutsu that he’s been working on actually that made time for all that! It makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>time.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sounds cool, right?” His sister leaned forward excitedly as if some of her own wonderment would somehow be rubbed off onto him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A jutsu that </span>
  <em>
    <span>makes time</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” He echoed skeptically. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Himawari bobbed her head, “Yep! He told me that it could make a day just a couple hours longer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A jutsu that could make the day longer, huh?</span>
  </em>
  <span> How convenient, Boruto thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what does this have to do with your idea?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well tomorrow, we can use the jutsu and I dunno, we could make him dinner or bake a cake or something? I haven’t thought that far yet, but isn’t that a great idea?” She searched his eyes for validation, but unfortunately for her, tonight it was going to be hard to come by.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grunted at the idea. “Why can’t he just use it himself?” If he had a jutsu like this just lying around and hadn’t bothered to use it… well Boruto had had enough to be angry about tonight, and he was pretty burnt out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well the thing is… he hasn’t exactly ‘finished it’—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Himawari</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know it’s not sure to work, but I wanted to try, at least.” She tried to reason. “I just wanted...” Her voice trailed off into nothing as she lowered her eyes.  “See if we could get a couple minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Boruto inwardly sighed. How selfish was he being tonight? He may have considered himself largely on the receiving end of their father’s neglect, but it didn’t mean that Himawari was getting as much time as she wanted with their father. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what do I have to do exactly?” He relented. “Make dinner or something? I can’t really cook…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Absentmindedly he assessed the wild scribbles on the page, finding that he couldn’t make sense of most of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How does this even work?” Boruto asked aloud, regarding his father’s atrocious handwriting with distaste. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Himawari tapped her chin, “I kinda just thought you would know what to do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Becoming more and more aware of how tired he was, he let out an insufferable sigh, eyes falling on the line of jutsu he could just barely make out. “There’s a seal here…” He murmured to himself, hand ghosting over the intricate pattern. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hitsuji. Uma. Tatsu. Ushi…” And so on the seals continued. When he finished a mumbled utterance of the series, he glanced at the script above it, “I’m not sure I get it, Hima. We don’t even know if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>works</span>
  </em>
  <span>—“</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The ink under his hand suddenly began to glow, swirling on the paper, and it was then that Boruto saw that the cut on his palm had started bleeding again, and a few splatters of his blood laid in the center of the seal. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He went to wipe it off, but his palm halted suddenly in the middle of the glowing swirl, unmoving in his attempts to wrench it free. His eyes shot up from his hand to Himawari, whose own hands were positioned in Mi, the last seal he’d recited, a panicked expression on her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could feel chakra coursing rapidly throughout his body, and his own worry gradually increased. His head was spinning and he lurched forward, narrowly holding himself up. Himawari dropped her seal, reaching out to steady him. “Wh-What’s going on? Do you think this is supposed to happen?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chakra began to swirl around them and sent the room shuddering. The light emitted from the seal grew to a blinding white and there was an aching pressure behind his right eye. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>His Byakugan?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And shortly, the light all but faded and the small tornado along with it. One and a half pairs of white eyes stared at each other wide in shock. Himawari opened her mouth to say something but with the succession of another flash of white light, brighter this time, her words fell on deaf ears and the room was empty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>...</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whew boy 12 year olds are just a whole lot of interesting. Anyway, I feel like i should add that maybe Boru is a bit ooc...? I mean I don't think he is because there's so much to flesh out with his relationship with Naruto. But what a lot of this story will be getting into is the complexities of Boruto's feelings and how he kinda has a hard time expressing himself, yanno, as 12 year olds tend to be not be able to do. But our sweet baby boy is anything but perfect and we'll be seeing some of that too! I'm also looking forward to writing Hima cause I usually don't see a lot of her. </p>
<p>Anywho... hope you enjoyed! As always, leave me some feedback!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ok so if you're reading this from ff.net i've made a *bunch* of changes, still will be making more so I hope that these chapters can be a lot less long, easier to read, and more... developed I'll say?? </p>
<p>thanks for reading!! tell me what you think!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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